AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly

March 10, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Hershey (3/7): Center Kyle Wilson scored the go-ahead goal to lead the Hershey Bears over the Manchester Monarchs 4-3 on "Mullet Night: Redneck Edition" on Friday evening at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Monarchs center Marc-Andre Cliche tallied twice and right wing Kevin Westgarth added his fifth goal of the season. The Bears responded with goals from center Jason Morgan, defenseman Danny Syvret, center Jay Beagle and Wilson. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick took the loss with 30 saves. Bears netminder Daren Machesney earned the victory stopping 28-of-31 shots. Manchester went 0-for-6 on the power play. Hershey was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

Vs. Providence (3/8): Defenseman Brett Skinner tallied a pair of goals, including the game winner, as the Providence Bruins skated to a 5-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. Center Marc-Andre Cliche collected his third goal in two nights and center David Meckler added his 17th of the season for the Monarchs. Providence lit the lamp with goals from left wing Chris Collins, Skinner (2), right wing Jeff Hogan and left wing Pascal Pelletier. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick took the loss after stopping 18 shots before being replaced by netminder Daniel Taylor in the third period who made eight saves on nine shots. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask earned the win with 27 saves. Manchester did not have a power play in the game. Providence went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Monarchs (27-28-4-4, 62 points) continue to battle with the Springfield Falcons (29-25-5-5, 68 points) for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Manchester dropped six points behind the Falcons following their losses to Hershey and Providence over the weekend.

The Monarchs have a home record of 13-16-1-3 and a road record of 14-12-3-1.

The Monarchs power play remains atop the AHL with a 23.3-percentage and the penalty kill is in 29th place with 77.3-percent.

The Monarchs have the best home power play record as they have scored 39 goals on 150 opportunities at the Verizon Wireless Arena. They are ranked sixth on the road with a power play record of 28 goals on 137 opportunities.

Manchester has scored at least one power play goal in 18 of their 27 wins this season.

33 of the 63 Monarchs games thus far this season have been determined by one goal. The Monarchs are 15-10-4-4 in one goal games, 4-8-0-0 in two goal games, 2-7-0-0 in three goal games and 6-3-0-0 in four goal games.

Manchester is 17-5-0-1 when leading after the first period and 16-2-1-1 when leading after the second period.

When scoring first in the game, the Monarchs are 19-7-2-2.

The best day of the week for the Monarchs to play is on Saturday. The team is 11-8-2-2 in 23 Saturday games this season. Manchester is 4-3-1-0 in Sunday games, 2-1-0-0 on Mondays and 1-1-0-0 on Tuesday. On Wednesdays, the Monarchs have a record of 1-5-0-0. In the lone Thursday game this season, the Monarchs lost in overtime. Manchester is 8-10-0-2 on Fridays thus far this season.

The Monarchs are 5-4 in shootouts this season.

Right wing Teddy Purcell (16-46=62) leads the Monarchs with 62 points in 52 games. He was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, February 15 and scored his first NHL goal later that night in the Kings 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames. In 10 games with the Kings this season, Purcell has one goal and two assists for three points and a plus/minus rating of plus-2.

Purcell was named the MVP of the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok after he scored three goals and the decisive game-winning shootout tally for the Canadian All-Stars.

Purcell has scored at least one point in 39-of-52 games with the Monarchs this season.

Purcell's 62 points are ranked fifth in the AHL for overall scoring and is ranked first among rookies.

His 46 assists are ranked fourth in the AHL in that category and also rank first among rookies.

Purcell's 28 assists on the power play place him in third place in the AHL with Monarchs and ranks first among AHL rookies.

The rookie right wing has been held without a goal since February 4. The Monarchs have played 14 games since Purcell's last goal. Purcell missed six of those game while on a stint with the Kings. The Monarchs are 4-8-0-2 since Purcell last scored a goal.

Center Gabe Gauthier (23-34=57) is ranked second on the Monarchs squad with 57 points in 57 games.

Gauthier went 4-for-4 in the accuracy shooting event as he represented PlanetUSA at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok. Gauthier is only the second person in AHL history to go 4-for-4 in the event. Former Providence Bruins' Andy Hilbert went 4-for-4 in the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic held in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Gauthier's 34 assists are ranked third on the Monarchs squad.

Gauthier has scored at least one point in 36-of-57 games this season.

Gauthier's 57 points ties him in 11th place in the AHL.

19 of Gauthier's 34 assists this season have come on the power play, which ties him for 12th place in the AHL for power play assists.

Gauthier's 15 power play goals are ranked third in the AHL among power play tallies.

Center Brian Boyle is ranked third on the Monarchs squad this season and ranked second among AHL rookies with 47 points (22-26=48). He was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, February 2. In his debut, he collected a goal and an assist in the Kings 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. In eight games with the Kings since his debut, Boyle has four goals and an assist for five points and a plus-4 rating. Boyle was assigned to Manchester on Sunday, February 17.

Boyle also ranks first among AHL rookies with 192 shots on goal this season.

Boyle's 12 power play goals are tied for seventh overall and tied for first among rookies.

Boyle's 22 goals lead AHL rookies.

In Boyle's last nine games since returning to the Monarchs lineup from Los Angeles, the rookie center has one goal and four assists. Prior to his NHL debut, Boyle had 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 47 games.

Defenseman Peter Harrold leads Monarchs blueliners, is ranked fourth on the team and is in second place in the AHL among defensemen with 43 points (7-36=43) in 49 games. Harrold was recalled by the Kings on Tuesday, February 19. He scored his first NHL goal in the Kings 6-5 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, February 23. Harrold has two points (1-2=3) in 13 games with the Kings this season.

29 of Harrold's 36 assists have come on the power play, which ranks second in the league.

Left wing Matt Moulson rounds out the Monarchs top five scorers with 40 points (22-18=40) in 42 games this season. The second year left wing has played in 22 games with the Kings this season and recorded nine points (5-4=9) and a plus/minus rating of plus-2.

Right wing Kevin Westgarth is tied for 27th place in the AHL in penalty minutes with 156 in 55 games. Westgarth is also ranked fourth among rookies in penalty minutes. He has 20 major penalties that also ranks first among rookies.

Left wing Paul Crosty is tied for seventh in the AHL with 191 penalty minutes in 40 games.

In 30 games between the pipes, goaltender Erik Ersberg has a record of 10-13-2, a 2.92 goals-against-average and a .897 save-percentage. He was recalled by the Kings on Wednesday, February 20 and served as the backup goaltender in the Kings 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, February 21.

Ersberg collected his first win and shutout in the Kings 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, March 6. The rookie goaltender stopped 40 shots from the Senators through 60 minutes of play for the victory. Ersberg has played in five games with the Kings this season and collected a record of 1-2-2, a 2.20 goals-against-average and a .932 save-percentage.

Netminder Daniel Taylor has played in 20 games this season and registered a record of 10-5-2, 2.58 goals-against-average and a .915 save-percentage.

Taylor earned his first professional shutout by stopping all 30 shots by the Milwaukee Admirals in the Monarchs 1-0 win on Friday, January 18 and his second shutout on Wednesday, January 23 with 35 saves in the Monarchs 2-0 win over the Worcester Sharks. His third consecutive shutout came on Friday, January 25 when the Monarchs topped the Lowell Devils 4-0 and Taylor stopped all 32 shots he faced.

Taylor's shutout streak ended when center Jason King of the Portland Pirates scored at the four-minute mark in the first period of the game on Friday February 1 to bring his total streak time to 189 minutes and 36 seconds.

Taylor did not allow an even strength goal from January 13 until the game on February 2. He shut down the opponent when playing 5-on-5 hockey for a total of 336 minutes and 31 seconds. During that time, Taylor allowed four power play goals.

Netminder Jonathan Quick was recalled by the Monarchs on February 27 from the ECHL's Reading Royals. In eight games with the Monarchs, Quick has a record of 3-5-0, 2.76 goals-against-average and a .906 save-percentage.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

3-10-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed defenseman Paul Baier to an amateur tryout agreement.

3-6-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) recalled defenseman P.J. Atherton from the Reading Royals (ECHL).

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT

Defenseman Drew Bagnall is week-to-week with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Richard Petiot is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

MONARCHS IN THE COMMUNITY

At Your Service Dinner - You are invited to join the Manchester Monarchs at the teams' annual At Your Service Dinner! Be a part of the fun and excitement on Monday, March 10 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.! The annual dinner turns the normally rugged hockey team into an accomplished wait staff eager to fulfill special requests...all for charitable tips. The event also includes a silent auction featuring personalized pottery, Build-A-Bears and gift baskets, all created by the players. Other fabulous items will include jerseys, trips, electronics and memorabilia. Proceeds benefit the Monarchs Care Foundation, Manchester Boys and Girls Club, and Child Health Services.

Read Across America - Monarchs players will be visiting schools throughout New Hampshire this week to read Z Is For Zamboni to the students as part of the National Education Association's Read Across America program. All around the nation, reading celebrations big and small are putting the joy of reading front and center.

Thursday, March 13 - McDonough School from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.



American Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2008


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